


Heir Apparent

by ToraRyusei



Series: Water [1]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-06-01 00:50:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15131447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToraRyusei/pseuds/ToraRyusei





	Heir Apparent

Within the wooden meeting room in a rustic little Japanese town, two people were having a meeting. A man wearing small round glasses tinted black that sat on the bridge of his nose and a drooping cigarette apathetically between his lips. Disheveled hair and rings beneath his dark eyes completed the picture of a man not too concerned with his appearance.

 At the end of the table was a teenage girl, no older than eighteen. She was dressed far more neatly, a dark blue blazer and cardigan underneath. A fashionable, light scarf around her neck. In her hand was a white marble chess piece, the Queen, she spun it around her fingers, her thumb rubbed the velvet bottom of the piece.

“This is nice, I think I’m going to keep it.” She spoke in a clear, dignified voice.

She was the successor to the Youkai Hunter's current leader. A girl of far higher status than him, and yet several years his junior. The hunters had never cared for age as the decider of one’s hierarchy, their ways had always leaned more to a meritocracy where the one more willing to give—and sacrifice—would be given their due. And it helped that only those of her blood could wield the Hunter’s true power, for she was a direct descendant of the original, the founder of the Youkai Hunters.

She finally set the chess piece down to its rightful position, commanding the army of pawns, rooks, and knights that shone with a gleam that only porcelain could. Despite her leisurely observance of the brilliant pieces, there hung a chilly air in the room. The man in front of her, despite his exterior which might suggest he simply didn’t care, felt her presence loud and clear, and it made every second stretch out to what seemed like minutes. It was like she was testing how long he could last before his nerves were frayed by the anxiety he felt.

Finally, she turned celestial blue eyes up to him and smiled. A pleasant little smile, the sort meant to brace a person for the cruel words that followed.

“So, the last piece of the mirror?”

“Yes…about that…”

“It shouldn’t be hard to extract it, even if it is lodged in his head.” She replied nonchalantly, putting further pressure on his inability to secure that crucial final shard.

“He went to the trouble of gathering all the shards for us, the least I can do is find a way to take the shard without killing him.” The man defended himself.

“True, if word got around that Takii Migakaze passed away while in our care, it would make things troublesome. He’s made a great deal of allies, not just youkai.” The girl’s peaceful gaze turned to the window.

Outside was a quaint little village with a dirt path. A holy land only a few knew of, residing in an island that didn’t exist in any maps you might find. Not even visible by satellite, it was the hub of the Youkai Hunters. Their headquarters, so to speak. It lacked any grandiose nature that the name would imply. The land had been preserved exactly as it had existed a thousand years ago, rather, it was forever locked in that time, any changes made to the land or structure of the houses on the island would immediately be undone, and it was spring all around on this island.

“Just one more shard, and the ritual will start. Just a bit more, and the world will be changed for the better.” She mumbled. Her goals would be realized, the ambition which burned within her, coupled with the right to wield the Hunter’s greatest tools would make her unstoppable once she assembled the mirror.

Unstoppable, yes. But there were some who wished the world not to change, those who lived in the comfort built upon years of hard work and now saw her, the future leader of the Youkai Hunters, as a menace to their very organization. One such man was sitting across from her, though he dared not let any of these thoughts pass his lips. For even when he knew the many Hunters who agreed with him, none were courageous enough to directly stand against her, or her power.

 _Looks like you’ll be doing me one more favor, Takii-kun_.

 The thought came with a note of cynicism. The male Hunter had already been acquainted with the Tiger from a previous encounter. His ambition and blindness to the messy reality were like hers. Why he had healed him, why he hadn’t so much as tried to pry the Yata no Kagami shard from his eye, and why he kept him now in waiting were for this final gambit. A pawn he could use to stop the ambitious heir’s plans. He was the perfect kind of fool to go and fight for his so-called “Justice”.

 

_Even if it might make you the enemy of humanity, even if those eyes of yours have lost their light, you wouldn’t let those creatures you love called youkai be exterminated, would you?_


End file.
